President Bush won't be the only bigwig feted in Washington next week. Lawmakers and other federal officials will be honored with all kinds of luncheons, receptions and parade-watching parties during inauguration week often at the expense of businesses they regulate.

Frenzied shoppers need only look up for a moment of relief. All over the country, retailers big and small offer store windows designed to delight and entice. "Holiday windows are really the stores' gift to the cities," says Sheryll Bellman, author of Through the Shopping Glass: A Century of New York Christmas Windows (Rizzoli). "And," she adds with Big Apple pride, "New York is the city that produces the most and the best windows." Bellman shares with USA TODAY's Shawn Sell some wondrous behind-the-glass holiday fantasies.

The holidays are a great time to revel in Chicago's storied collection of architecture and outdoor art, old and new. To enjoy the city's greatest gifts, dress warmly and get out into the streets and parks. Besides, coming in from the cold only makes Chicago's indoor pleasures theater, music, food, shopping, museums, ballet that much sweeter.

In Chicago, tony Michigan Avenue headlines most shopping itineraries. But don't overlook the city's patchwork of neighborhoods, pockets rich in treasures to satisfy browsers of everything from saris along Devon Avenue to paper lanterns in Chinatown, designer frocks in Bucktown to designer shoes in Lincoln Park. Thrift shop and design devotees will find several trek-worthy warehouses full of items salvaged from historic buildings. And Chicago's famed Maxwell Street market, though a shadow of its former vigor, still makes an interesting Sunday morning stroll if not for the second-hand goods then at least for the many homemade taco stands that feed fairgoers. Word to the style wise: Wear sturdy shoes. They're your best accessory for scouring Chicago.